Runa
by Phildozer
Summary: The adopted daughter of the Dragonborn Drenkir and his Vampire wife Serana is all grown up and thinks she's ready to take on the world. But what awaits the daughter of the Dragonborn in this harsh world?
1. Dragon Bones

**A/N Ahoy fellow readers, I'd really appreciate a review of this story, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, anyway, I don't own the Elder Scrolls series or anything in it, enjoy **

Drenkir awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his house. He was acutely aware of the shape sleeping curled up in his arms. Serana, his wife of seventeen years, smiled up at her husband. "Good morning, love." Drenkir said with a smile as he kissed her forehead gently. Serana yawned and returned his smile. "Morning to you as well sweetheart." Drenkir had helped Serana kill her father seventeen years ago when he plotted to use Auriel's Bow to block out the sun so Vampires could be free of its tyranny. Despite being a Vampire herself, Serana did not want to fight the war with all of Tamriel that that would cause. They'd fallen in love during their time together and were married not long after. Serana's mother, Valerica, was still no fan or Drenkir; however, she respected the broad-shouldered Nord he was madly in love with her daughter. Being a Vampire, Serana was immortal, as was Drenkir thanks to his Dragon Soul. A year into their marriage, they discovered that they were unable to have children on their own.

This nearly left them heartbroken, until one day when Drenkir received a message from a courier asking him if he and his wife wanted to adopt a child from the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. They jumped at the chance and race to the city in hopes of adopting a child. Upon making it to Riften nearly four days later from Lakeview Manor outside of Falkreath, they immediately fell for a young girl at the orphanage. Runa Fair-Shield was everything either of them had hoped for in a daughter and they adopted her that day. On their travel home, Runa became enthralled by her new parent's tales of all they'd accomplished. She was in awe of the size of Lakeview Manor, which elicited a hearty laugh from Drenkir. Runa was even more impressed when she learned her new parents had built the home themselves. Drenkir and Serana showed their new daughter around their home, at the end of the tour, Runa leaped up into the air and hugged her new parents, thanking them profusely for adopting her. They smiled and put their child away for the night.

Drenkir exited his bed and stretched, sighing as his joints cracked, Serana stared and smiled at her husband. His thick, powerful shoulders and arms were crafted from years as a master blacksmith and archer, his rippling chest that was covered with scars of varying lengths and widths. However, Serana's favorite thing about her husband was his eyes, a deep brown, near black. Despite their darkness however, she could sense the love and compassion in those eyes coupled with the determination and sadness of a man who's seen and done terrible things. Serana never judged her husband because of his actions though, that was the past. Serana joined Drenkir in stretches as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Drenkir was still in awe of his wife's beauty, despite being over a thousand years old, her jet black hair, flawless skin, and bright amber eyes showed no signs of changing. Her sarcasm and dry wit often had him smiling, even when he shouldn't have been. He kissed her deeply and smiled, pulling her tighter against him, Serana smiled and traced his chest with a finger, caressing the scars. Their kiss was interrupted a knock at the door, enter their twenty-one year old daughter, Runa and her pet fox, Kai. Runa was tall for her age, rivaling her mother at five foot nine inches, still dwarfed by her adopted father's six foot six stature. Her light brown hair fell to the middle of her back, with curls near the bottom. Pale green eyes and a perfect smile greeted her parents, Kai hopped up on the bed and had been the family pet for three years now, his bright orange fur shining like a beacon at all times. She was ecstatic, since today being the day she was adopted by Drenkir and Serana. Runa smiled. "Good morning you tw-"She stopped as she realized what she'd walked in on. "I can come back, if you'd rather." She giggled as her parent's kiss broke. Serana was the first to speak. "Come on in Runa, we were just waking up actually." She said with a smile. Runa shuffled to her parents and hugged them both. "I love you guys, you know that?" Drenkir kissed the top of his daughter's head. "We love you too kiddo, now do you know what today is?" Runa nodded enthusiastically. "It's the sixteen year anniversary of when you guys adopted me!"

Serana nodded and smirked. "Now, what would you like to do today? Everything is up to you." Runa stepped back and thought for a second. "I want to go on an adventure." She said sternly. Serana's smile faltered slightly and she turned to her husband, who stared ahead, blank faced. "Where did you have in mind, little one?" Drenkir asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, I've been reading up and I'd like to explore Tamriel." Serana interjected. "Sweetie, we took you all over Tamriel years ago." Drenkir nodded in agreement. Runa shook her head. "I wanna go by myself, go out on my own and have adventures and stories like you both had." Drenkir immediately shook his head. "Not a chance in Oblivion Runa, no. I will not have my daughter wandered around the gods forsaken land." Runa clasped her hands together. "Please Papa? You've trained me and everything; I'm nearly as good as you are at Archery and grandmother taught me all about herbs and plants and said I could be an amazing alchemist. Mama even let me practice with a dagger over the years and I got really good. Plus I've got Kai as backup. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" Drenkir looked at his wife and sighed. "We'll go out today and if you can prove that you know what you're doing, we'll let you go, fair?" Runa bum rushed her father and hugged him tightly, thanking him repeatedly, then did the same with her mother. "Meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes." Drenkir said. She nodded then ran off to her room, leaving them alone. Serana sighed loudly. "Gods help us." Drenkir nodded in agreement.

Runa rushed into her room and smiled, nearly squealing with excitement, Kai hot on her trail. She rummaged around until she found her leather armor; it was old but served its purpose, hugging with curves of her body tightly. She grabbed her hunting bow and quiver of iron arrows as well as her Elven dagger that her father had given her last year. Ten minutes later she charged downstairs with Kai in tow, to find her father waiting in a tunic and trousers. She looked quizzically at her father. "Aren't you going to put some armor on, Papa?" he ushered for her to follow and he led her to the Room.

For sixteen years, Runa had wondered what was behind those two wooden doors. She had been forbidden form touching them all her life and had been chastised multiple times for trying to pick the lock that her father had placed on the doors. Runa spoke as Drenkir led the way; Serana descended down the stairs and joined them. "What's in that room, Papa?" He merely huffed and stopped as they reached the room. He took a key that hung from around his neck and unlocked the door. "Remnants of my past, most of it I wish I could forget." He said ominously. She walked inside with her parents in tow and was shocked at the assortment of armors and weapons that hung on mannequins and plaques. On the far left there was a set of jet black mail with red striping up and down it, a black and red hood hung over the mannequin, concealing the face beneath, on the arm of the mail, there was a handprint in blood red. Next to it sat a bow with similar markings and colorings. Runa whipped around to her father. "You were an assassin in the Dark Brotherhood!?" she nearly screamed. Drenkir nodded in confirmation as Serana put a hand on her husband's shoulder. He spoke. "I've been a lot of things Runa, an Assassin, the Guild master of the Thieves' Guild, the Harbinger of the Companions, a Mage at the College of Winterhold, and a few other things. Some of which I'm not proud of."

Runa was still in disbelief. She stared around the room, noticing many armor sets from varying sources; she spotted Thieves' Guild armor, Mage Robes, legendary Skyforge Steel weapons and a set of armor that appeared to be made of bone. Runa finally gathered up the composure to talk. "What's this made out of?" Drenkir spoke with a hint of pride in his voice. "Dragon Bones, made with the help of your mother." Runa spun quickly. "Wait a second; I thought only the Dragonborn had Dragon Bone armor?" Drenkir nodded slowly, waiting for his daughter to catch up as Serana placed a kiss on his cheek and held his hand.


	2. Salute

**A/N Ahoy guys, sorry this took so long, life got in the way. I will try to do these at least once a month, hopefully more, thanks for being patient. Also, if any armor or weapons or such are mentioned and you don't recognize them they're mods on PC, just an FYI. Anyway, enjoy **

Runa turned towards her father, jaw gaping at him. Drenkir smiled and laughed loudly before speaking. "Close your mouth Runa, you'll catch flies otherwise." Serana giggled softly. She eventually regained her composure and stuttered through a sentence. "Are you t-t-telling me that my father, the one who read me bed time stories and played hide and seek with me when I was a child, is the legendary Dragonborn?" Drenkir smirked and nodded in agreement. Runa nearly fainted from the news. "What's next, you're gonna tell me Mama is a Werewolf?" She nearly shouted. Serana stifled a laugh. "Close, I'm a Vampire." She said. This time, Runa fainted immediately. Drenkir sighed. "We could've done that better, you know." His wife nodded. "But that was the most entertaining way." Serana remarked. Drenkir's laugh bellowed through Lakeview Manor as he walked to his daughter, lifting her with ease and carrying her back to her bed. He laid her down gently and closed the door behind him.

She awoke nearly an hour later; she had a good sized bump on her head and felt like she had woken up from a strange dream. The last thing Runa remembered was her father telling her that he was the Dragonborn and her mother saying she was a Vampire. She shook her head and exited her bed, noticing that she was in her leather armor still, the old, weathered fabric still clinging to her skin. She rushed downstairs and into the kitchen to find her father roasting a slab of venison of a fire as her mother diced potatoes. Drenkir was the first to speak as he noticed his daughter. "Afternoon Runa, I trust you had a nice nap?" He said with a smirk, eliciting a chuckle from his wife. "It's all true isn't it? You're really the Dragonborn." She looked over to her mother. "And you're really a Vampire, aren't you?" They both nodded and Runa began to feel lightheaded again, so she took a seat at the table. "Why didn't you guys tell me this? How did I not notice any of it?" She asked aloud. Drenkir sat beside his daughter and put an arm around her. "We did what we could to keep it a secret, we're not exactly the most popular people in Skyrim and we didn't want it to affect your life. As for how you didn't notice, well, I guess we got a little lucky." He said with a chuckle.

"We're sorry we had to do it but we were protecting you, you can forgive us for that, right?" Serana asked. Runa nodded. "I understand, it's just weird you know?" This elicited a loud laugh from Drenkir. "Oh, I think we know." A laugh erupted from them all, even a little snicker from Kai. Runa rested against her father's arm. "Can we still go out and see if I'm ready?" Drenkir nodded and stood up. "Let me get dressed and I'll meet you outside, grab your bow and a dagger. Kai and Serana can come too, if they wish." He said with a smile. His wife shot a look at him that implied her going, no matter what he said. Runa immediately stood and kissed her father's cheek before snatching up her bow and heading outside. Drenkir sighed. "They grow up so fast." He headed upstairs to slip into his armor, Serana at his heels.

Runa waited for her parents by the stable out front, leaning against the pole as Kai sat by her feet. Drenkir arrived out a few minutes later in his Dragon Bone armor, his Dark Brotherhood Bow from inside on his back. Her mother met up with them a minute later with a steel chest plate and red leather jacket, dark red leather trousers hugged her legs as well as dark red boots, over her waist there was more steel plating and a hood to match the rest of the armor set, a set of Daedric daggers hung at her sides, something Runa had only seen in books. Runa was impressed by the armor sets and weapons. "Very nice, where'd you get Mama's armor and the bow?" Drenkir smirked. "I made it a few years ago, when you were still young, and my Bow was a gift from my days in the Brotherhood." His daughter nodded and stood ready. "Where are we going to go first?" She asked and Drenkir motioned behind him. "First, we're going to make a trip up to Whiterun, it's been much too long since we've stopped by and then we'll figure it out from there." Runa nodded as they began to walk north east towards the city.

It wasn't long before they came upon a pack of wolves; Drenkir motioned for everyone to drop down and stay quiet. They could see the small pack in the distance and immediately Drenkir dropped to one knee, and notched an arrow into his bow. However, he looked to his right and stopped. "Why don't you take this one Runa, see if your marksmanship is still good." She nodded and took out her own bow and arrow, taking aim and dropping to one knee as her father had. She pulled back and released, letting the arrow sail through the air like a silent bird of death before imbedding itself into a wolf's skull, killing it instantly. The two other wolves looked around for the source of the invisible death as another arrow slammed into the second wolf's side. The final one caught sight of the attacker and started growling before charging. The wolf closed in quickly but Runa kept her composure as she'd been taught and took a deep breath before firing one more arrow and hitting the wolf in the eye, sending the beast to Hircine. She stood up and looked at her father. "Not bad Runa, could've been better, more practice and you won't even be getting sniffed out by the bastards." He said with pride in his voice. Serana was acutely aware of her twitching hands at the sight of her daughter being in danger for the first time in years. However, she was impressed by her daughter's skills; she was very much reminded of Drenkir by the way she moved, however this came as no surprise.

After skinning the wolves and taking what meat was available, they rested for the night. A fire had been started and bedrolls sat next to one another, the meat roasting slowly. Drenkir stoked the fire, staring into it as he sighed. "Feels good to finally be out again, it's been too long." Serana nodded in agreement as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder. Runa sat across from them, her knees nearly up to her chest, Kai lying beside his master. There was a rustling behind Drenkir, he and his family turned towards the noise. An arrow pierced the night and imbedded itself into Kai. With a tiny, near inaudible yelp, the fox died. Runa didn't even have time to scream as another arrow flew through the night and a man walked from the bushes. "Alright folks, you're surrounded by archers with poison tipped arrows. Please hand over all money and valuables that you have and the fox will be this night's only casualty." Drenkir and Serana stared stone-faced at the man. He stood tall in thick ebony armor, making him nearly invisible in the night. He wore no helmet, his face covered in markings; the man's hair was a dark blonde Mohawk. His voice dripped with confidence and malice. The bandit made his way towards Drenkir and his family, smiling as he did so. Slowly he moved to Runa whose face was stained with tears at the loss of her pet and friend. The bandit gripped her chin and forced her to look at him, he smirked. "I think I'll keep her for myself." Serana nearly leapt at the man threatening her daughter but Drenkir stopped her by wrapping her up. "Get away from my daughter you bastard!" Serana screamed and bared her fangs. The bandit turned his attention to her. "Daughter you say? You two could be sisters." He said with a laugh. Drenkir stared into the man, his gaze never wavering. "Guess that makes you daddy huh?" He didn't reply.

"I think I'll have my way with your daughter right her in front of you, what do you think daddy?" Drenkir growled in response as Runa struggled against the man's grasp. "A fighter, I like it." The bandit reared his hand back and brought it down upon Runa's face, eliciting a squeal of pain from the girl. He threw her down and skulked his way to Drenkir and Serana, leaning down to get face-to-face with them. "I bet you wanna kill me right now, don't you? You wanna rip my throat out and dance on my corpse don't you?" He said with a smile. Drenkir snarled and spit into the man's eye, causing him to recoil. That's when Serana and Drenkir made their move. He Shouted. "TIIL, KLO, UL!" Time froze for Drenkir as he jabbed his fist into the bandit's throat, then with a tap on Serana's shoulder he brought her into the fray, allowing her movement in the frozen world. She took a deep breath before speaking as she ran. "One archer, dead ahead, he's mine." In a flash she was upon the poor soul as time returned to its normal state, there was a scream, then a crack, then nothing but the sound of feeding.

Drenkir hustled to his daughter and crouched down, pulling her into his arms. "Are you alright sweetheart?" She nodded and wiped her eyes. "I'm alright papa, but what happened?" Drenkir sighed. "I used the Thu'um to freeze time and gain the upper hand, your mother took out the archer and the-would be thief is sprawled out on the ground over there, still alive I might add." Runa immediately broke away from her father and stomped her way over to the man who was holding his throat still. Runa turned the man on his back and delivered a savage punch to his nose, sending it into a spray of red. She stomped on the man's chest and drew her knife. "It doesn't seem fair does it? Having your life in someone else's hands." She nearly smiled as he wheezed and tried to capture a breath that was not there. Runa reached down to her boot where her dagger was kept and drew it. The long curved blade shone bright against the moonlight. The bandit's face was a mask of terror as he gazed up. He closed his eyes and awaited the welcoming embrace of death. Runa brought the knife down quickly, burying it to the hilt into the dirt an inch from his face. "You killed my friend but we killed one of yours. I want you to remember this night and if I ever catch even the slightest whiff of you committing so much as loitering, I will come back and make what my mother did to your friend look like a walk in the park. Do I make myself clear?" The man opened his eyes and stared at her, unsure how to react. He scrambled to his feet quickly and hobbled away.

However, before he could get out of the clearing, Serana was upon him, her mouth stained with blood. She withdrew her own dagger and slashed the man's arms, then at his waist. It all happened in the blink of an eye. A second later, small cuts were visible in his armor, the arm guards falling off, and then his gauntlets on his legs fell as well, leaving him in his underclothes as he tried to scramble away. She pushed him out of the clearing with a foot and then rejoined her family. Serana wiped her mouth and smiled, this sent Drenkir and Runa into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as the man with no pants trudged away. "Oh gods, you haven't done that in ages my dear." Drenkir said as he kissed the top of his wife's head. She smirked but it died quickly as she peered down at Kai, as did everyone else. "We should give him a proper burial." Runa stated, both her parent's agreed. The next hour was spent digging a small grave out by hand and by saying a few words to remember him. A single tear fell down Runa's cheek as their small service ended. Her father grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows. Slowly he notched and arrow and fired it into the sky. Runa stared at her father in confusion. Serana put an arm around her daughter. "A Twenty One Bow Salute. He does it whenever we lose someone close." Runa nodded slowly and stood to join her father, firing off one arrow after another in perfect unison. The fire died soon after and they were embraced by the darkness.

**Hope you guys liked it, keep the reviews and favorites coming, thanks again - Phil **


	3. Bears Don't Care

As the sun rose, Runa stirred and stretched out on her makeshift bed. She felt nothing on her feet, like she normally did. This made her bolt upright only to remember that Kai had died and been buried the night before. Runa would've felt tears come on if she had any left to cry, so she stood and stretched her stiff muscles. She turned to her mother and father who shared a bed together not far off, they were still off in their dream worlds. Slowly she walked to the grave they'd made for Kai, one of her only friends that she'd ever had. One silent tear fell down her cheek but she shook it away and grabbed her bow and quiver, walking off into the forest to hunt.

Runa moved slowly and stealthy, tracking the massive buck she'd spotted a ways back. She followed it to a nearby stream before she dropped to one knee and took aim. The arrow sailed through the air and imbedded itself into the buck's skull, killing it instantly. Runa smirked and made her way to the creature. She dressed the buck and added the meat to her sack that she'd borrowed from her father. Her kill was enough to give them a nice breakfast before they started their day. Slowly Runa made her way back to camp, taking in the sounds of nature. However, at that moment, she stopped, for something felt… off.

Runa's pace quickened and she became more vigilant, more attentive to the world around her. A flash of movement in the trees above caught her attention and she froze, then dodged behind a nearby fallen tree trunk. A lightning bolt soared through the air and slammed into the trunk. Runa jumped at the noise but quickly lost her fear to anger. She wanted to take her rage out on something. She looked up and set her back of buck meat down gently, covering it in shrubbery. Another bolt sailed through the air and hit into her cover. Runa dropped to her belly and crawled along the length of the large fallen tree, changing position. She still had only a vague idea as to where the ghostly mage was taking shots at her but she would find this unseen adversary and end him. Runa slid up to one knee, popped her bow over cover and launched an arrow in the general direction of her attacker. She reached back and notched another arrow into her bow. She took a deep breath and steadied herself, trying to find her Zen where her aim was unparalleled.

With a vault over her cover, Runa's arrow tearing through the woodland air. She reaches back into her quiver and lets loose another arrow as she dodges through the trees. She locks in on another close by tree as a lightning bolt strikes her bow, causing her to drop it and shriek in pain. Runa ducks behind cover once again and spots her attacker in the tree above her. The figure in the tree points one hand with a fist full of lightning at her.

"Don't move, I have no wish to kill you." The voice boomed as Runa put her hands up in surrender.

"You sure have a funny way of showing that you don't want to kill me stranger. Show yourself" She said with rage in her voice. Just then a man dropped from the tree and landed on his feet. The first thing she noticed was that he was a Redguard, dressed in steel armor; he wore no helmet to mask his face, which was surprisingly handsome. He had a close crop of jet black hair and piercing green eyes. Thin dark stubble hugged his chin. Runa took in his large frame, thick arms jutted out from his armor; she could see a curved Scimitar on his hip as the lightning crackled in his hand.

"What do you want?" Runa said with malice in her voice. The stranger regarded her with a look of weariness.

"I want that buck meat that is rightly mine." He said. Runa became aggravated.

"Your meat? I tracked and killed that buck on my own. It was mine.

"That's what you think; I watched you since you left your camp. I could've killed you at any point. However, I did not, now give me the meat and you will be able to return to your companions."

"How do you know I'm even with someone?" He became visually annoyed with Runa and rolled his eyes. Runa pounced at the opportunity, quickly snatching her dagger out from its sheath and slapping his hand away. She struck quickly with her elven dagger; however each blow was dodged expertly. He backpedaled until he gained enough space to draw his Scimitar. Runa tried to close the gap and was met with blocked strikes and counterattacks. The clang of metal on metal echoed through the forest as they fought. They're fight constantly moving from the trees. Soon they were met in a clash up close. Runa unable to overpower the large Redguard but him unable to get the needed distance. Both of them attempted to catch their breath as they're faces were within inches of each other.

"It's mine!" Runa snarled. The Redguard shook his head. Neither of them were willing to give and inch, that is until a loud roar startled them both and forced them apart. Both of them jumped and turned to see a cave bear that they'd apparently disturbed with their commotion. The bear was on its hind legs, putting it well over the both of them as it tried to crush the Redguard. He dodged and slashed out with his sword, missing the bear but putting some distance between the two of them. It was focused on the Redguard and Runa had a thought. _I could run right now. I should run! I should but I can't condemn this man to death by bear, it's not something anyone deserves. _She took a deep breath and let it out. _This is a terrible idea._ She went along with it anyway.

The bear had its back turned to Runa as it dealt with the Redguard and she broke into a dead run; towards the bear. She delivered a few quick strikes to the beast's back as it howled in pain. The bear turned to her, which allowed the Redguard to also slash its back. More moans of pain erupted from the bear; Runa quickly slammed her blade into the bear, over and over again. It's moans grew more strained and it began to wobble. With one more stab from the Redguard, the mighty beast fell in a heap, dead.

Both of them stepped away from the corpse slowly, catching their breath. The Redguard was the first to break the silence.

"You fight well." He said, wiping his Scimitar off and putting it back in its sheath.

"You're not too bad yourself." She said, regaining her composure. She looked to see the Redguard drop to one knee, as if inspecting its wounds. As if it were one last burst of strength, the bear lashed out and slammed on massive clawed paw into his large shoulder. Blood erupted from the large gash on his arm as well as a scream of pain. He clamped his hand over it, trying to stop the bleeding. Despite this he was bleeding profusely. Runa immediately went back to her hidden bag with the buck meat and obtained some clean rags; she returned and told the Redguard to hold still. He did, if reluctantly as she wrapped the wound tightly.

"We'll need to get you back to my camp, I know someone who can help you." He shook his head.

"How do I know you'll help me and not kill me?" Runa sighed.

"If I wanted to kill you I would've done it already now get your milk drinking ass up before I drag you back myself." The Redguard stared at her before standing, Runa picked up her bag and her bow. She inspected it and noticed that it was ruined, the wood bent and gnarled as well as the string broken. She sighed again as she helped the Redguard make their way to camp. Their progress was fairly slow as he lost more blood, slowly he weakened. The Redguard was starting to fade into the cold hands of death. Runa took notice of this and half dragged him to the clearing where her camp was. She broke through the tree line to see her mother and father sitting by a fire cooking something that smelled delicious to her empty stomach. They both turned to her and stood immediately, moving to help her with her injured companion.

"What happened to him Runa?" Her father asked, eyeing her with a small hint of pride in his eyes.

"A Cave Bear attacked us, we killed it but he's hurt badly." Drenkir nodded and took the Redguard's weight, helping him to the ground. He called to Serana and she spoke.

"I know a little Restoration magic but we need to get him to Whiterun or he'll bleed out. Drenkir nodded and knelt down beside the boy.

"Can you stabilize him until we get there? It'll be a few hours at least." Serana chewed her lip in thought.

"I think so, but I make no promises." Drenkir sighed and nodded for her to tend to the boy. Serana knelt beside him and spoke an incantation, glowing yellow light appeared and started to mend the wound. Drenkir stood studied the boy, swearing he'd seen his face somewhere. He shook his head and turned to Runa who sat by the fire, staring into the flames. He plopped down beside her.

"Why don't you tell me what happened, little one?" She sighed but nodded.

"I went out early this morning when you and Mama were still asleep, I needed to clear my head after last night and I wanted to do some hunting. I tracked and killed a buck; the meat is still in my bag. All of a sudden there's a bolt of lightning and I'm behind a tree, terrified. Then I got mad though and attacked. We traded shots until I got close then we drew swords, his Scimitar versus my Elven Dagger, we were deadlocked until the bear showed up. We killed it but he got hurt." Runa never looked up from the fire as she spoke. Drenkir nodded and wrapped one arm around his daughter.

"You did the right thing Runa and saved a life in doing so. I'm proud of you." Runa rested her head on her father's shoulder.

"We have to get moving if we want to save your friend Runa, let's go." She nodded and stood up, regaining her composure. Drenkir stopped her once more.

"What happened to your bow, little one?" Runa blushed and pointed to the Redguard. Drenkir's head drooped and he motioned for them to get moving. They reached the Redguard who'd regained consciousness and was sitting up, thanking Serana for her healing abilities. Drenkir offered a hand to help the boy up; he took it and noticed that he rivaled his own six foot six frame.

We're going to take you to Whiterun, Serana is good but Restoration isn't her specialty. I'll have no argument about this, understand?" The boy nodded and turned to Runa.

"Your sister fights well, sir." Drenkir laughed loudly as did Serana. The Redguard looked at them then back to Runa, he raised an eyebrow quizzically. Runa spoke.

"They're my adoptive parents actually." His eyes widened in disbelief and turned back to them to see them still snickering.

"Wow." Was all he could say. He extended a hand to Runa. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, I'm Barakas." Runa studied the man and saw no harm in it. She took his hand and shook it.

"I'm Runa, that's my father Drenkir and my mother Serana. And that was his bow that you fried by the way." Barakas turned to Drenkir, but he held a hand up and ushered them to get moving. He stared at the boy's face again before speaking to Serana.

"Could he be?" She looked at him as well curiously.

"Could be." She said.

"What are you two talking about?" Barakas said with a raised his eyebrow again.

"Is your father's name Nazir by any chance Barakas?" Serana asked.

"My mother said that was my father's name but I never knew him. He abandoned us. Why?" Drenkir and Serana nodded.

"Did your mother tell you much of him?" He shook his head. "I knew your father from way back when. I even believe I know where he is." Barakas drew his sword with lightning speed, even more impressive with his bad arm. The point sat at Drenkir's neck.

"Tell me where he is now or I will kill you where you stand." Drenkir's face stayed seemingly uninterested, as did Serana's. Runa scrambled to draw her dagger but Drenkir held up his hand, stopping her. Drenkir even stepped forward, causing the tip to dig into his throat a little.

"You've got guts boy, I'll give you that. How about we get to Whiterun and I tell you there?" Barakas remained where he was for a second before returning his sword to its sheath. He started to speak but Drenkir lashed out with a quick punch, snapping his head back.

"Don't ever threaten me again boy or you will die. Get it?" He nodded and held his jaw as they started to make their way to Whiterun.

**A/N As always, hope you enjoyed, reviews and favorites are always welcome**

**-Phil **


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